Renata Scotto

Recognized for her sense of style, musicality and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered one of the preeminent singers of her generation, specializing in the bel canto repertoire with excursions into the verismo and Verdi repertoires.

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Renata Scotto was born in Savona, Italy. She made her operatic debut in her home town on Christmas Eve of 1952 at the age of 18 in front of a sold-out house as Violetta in Verdi's La traviata. The next day, she made her 'official' opera debut at the Teatro Nuovo in Milan as Violetta. Shortly after, she performed in her first Puccini opera, Madama Butterfly, in Savona and was paid twenty-five thousand lire. Both roles would later become closely associated with her name.

Scotto's major breakthrough came in 1957: At the Edinburgh Festival, La Scala performed their production of Bellini's La Sonnambula with Maria Callas as Amina. The production was so successful that the company added an additional performance. Callas however declined to perform due to illness, saying that she had already appeared in the other performances against her doctor's orders. Scotto, covering the role of Amina, replaced Callas on 3 September 1957. The performance was a great success, and the 23-year-old Scotto became an international opera star.

Her American debut was as Mimì in La bohème at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1960, the same year she married violinist Lorenzo Anselmi. The couple has a daughter and a son. On 13 October 1965, Scotto made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly. She went on to sing more than 300 performances in 26 roles at the Met through 1987 and settled to live with her family in nearby Westchester County.

In 1971, Scotto performed for a hostile audience for the first time in her career. While singing Elena in Verdi's I vespri siciliani, there was a demonstration from a small but very loud group shouting, "Brava, Callas". They continued to shout "Maria, Maria" and more "Brava, Callas" with Maria Callas sitting in the stage box watching Scotto's performance. Callas, though, would not acknowledge the shouts of the hecklers and instead gave Scotto a standing ovation at the end of her performance. Scotto's opening night Norma in 1981 was less than a great success but her subsequent performances at the Met during the 1981–82 season were very successful as they were on tour.